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 May thine be the standard and rule equally of my desires and of my actions. Amen.

This is a time when Jesus Christ is little thought of; those, therefore, who shall visit him at this time, cannot but be well received; for as we are then carried neither by custom, nor the crowd, our visits of consequence must be the effect of pure love, and undoubtedly the occasion of very signal favours, as Jesus Christ will never suffer himself to be outdone in point of liberality.

It was the practice of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, every night before he went to bed, to say, upon his knees, three Hail Marys. The first in honour of that instant in which the Blessed Virgin Mary was immaculately conceived. The second in honour of the feast of the Annunciation, when she became Mother of God; and the third in honour